Of Blood and Fire
by Zombie14Slayer
Summary: When the Survivors of L4D find a strange Witch, what to do with... HIM? Read and review for more chapters! Rated T for blood and violence in later chapters!
1. Chapter 1

**Of blood and fire, a L4D Fan Fiction by Zombie14Slayer**

I only own my OC's.

The night was quite. Almost too quite, considering that their should have been frenzied yells of the dead monsters that normally charge headlong into the human's blazing weaponry. The 4 survivors walked through the empty streets, their weapons at the ready, waiting for the inevitable yells of the living dead.

"Where are all the Infected?" Zoey pondered, hefting a fire ax, as well as an auto shotgun that only had 3 shells left.

"Good question" Bill said, scratching his beard as he lit a match to light his next cigarette.

"Maybe we got lucky and they all went somewhere else, chasing after birds or cats" Francis said, pointing his Assault Rifle into the shadows.

"Maybe that's the case, Francis, but you know what they say," Louis said "When the piranha run away, there's always a good reason TO run. Maybe something even more dangerous is around" He said, once again exposing his wisdom.

"But there aren't even any Tanks around" Zoey stated, as the crew walked forward, at a word of caution from Bill "And what could scare one of THOSE?"

"If it can scare those brutes away, it's either more survivors or a Wi-" Bill was cut off by the sound of quite sniffing, only this time, it sounded deeper and more powerful than a female witch.

"What the hell was that noi- HOLY SHIT! WIITCCHH! Francis screamed, as his flashlight caught on a pair of deep golden eyes. Everyone turned off their flashlight, scared to go ahead and try to cr0wn it.

"What the hell IS that?" Zoey gasped, as the thing sat there and stared at the group, a confused look on its face.

"It looks taller than the females, at LEAST 6 feet tall, with a more muscular build and narrower hips." Bill observed, as the creature continues to glare at the group.

"Soo, it's a MALE witch? I thought only girls turned into witches. What should we call the male breed?" Louise asked, witch started the whole group thinking.

"Hmm… how about Warlocks?" Zoey said, earning a unanimous agreement from her companions as she started crawling towards the Warlock, using the same caution as approaching a ticking time bomb, causing the Warlock to turn its head to stare at her. She saw a large bite on the side of its neck, probably the work of the Infected that infected him with the disease.

"Zoey, get away from it! It could kill you in a second if it wanted to! We wouldn't even have time to help!" Bill yelled, always overprotective.

"But Bill, look! It's not attacking!" Zoey exclaimed, sliding up to the infected and patting its head. The Warlock sniffed her hand, and then looked her in the eyes. The warlock had eyes that were a deep gold, like molten gold poured into the shape of eyes. The warlock leaned in and snuggled against Zoey, as if it were cold. She patted the back of the creatures head as it nestled into the crook of her arm.

"Well, great! A friendly witch! What's next? A flaming tank?" Francis spat, earning a glare from Zoey.

"RRRAAAAGGGHHHHH!" A tank screamed, bursting though a gas tanker, setting itself on fire.

"Well, I was just ASKING for that one…" Francis said, hefting his shotgun as the tank picked up a boulder to throw at the Survivors.

**Well, that's the 1****st**** chapter! What did you think? Please review! If I get enough good reviews, I'll start on the next chapter soon!**


	2. Chapter 2 The new addition

**Thanks for being so patient! I know this took **_**FOREVER **_**to upload, but people tell me that school is necessary. So, here you go! Chapter 2 of the epic adventures of the Survivors!**

"This thing won't go down!" Zoey screamed, unloading clip after clip into the hulking mountain of muscle that was charging at them. The smell of burning and decaying stench filled the air, making the Survivors retch. The Warlock sat on its haunches, staring uncomprehendingly at the Tank.

"Keep shooting! Don't even _THINK _about stopping!" Bill yelled over the noise of bullets flying and spitting into the rough skin of the monster. Just then, the Tank reached the defensive line the Survivors were trying to hold. It swung its monstrous fist, connecting with Zoey's ribs, earning a sickening creaking noise as the dark-haired girl was sent flying back. The Warlock saw this, and began to stand up. Catching movement at her side, Zoey saw the male witch on its feet; staring dead at the Tank with a murderous look in its eyes.

"Wha-?" Was all the college student had time to think before the creature hurled itself at the mountain of muscle, screaming like a maniac. Bill turned, just in time to see the witch tear past him, throwing itself into a back flip that landed it on the Tank's broad back. Then the Warlock raised it 4-inch long claws and began to gouge out chunks of flesh from the creature's back. The Tank roared, trying in vain to throw the enraged Witch off of itself. The Tank gasped heavily, fell to the ground, and died.

The Warlock crawled off of the corpse, walked over to Zoey, and pulled her to her feet. "Uh, thanks. Hey, anyone got any pain pills?" Zoey groaned, slightly intimidated by all the blood on the Witch's hands. Then something happened that would change the way the Survivors thought about the Infected.

The Warlock nodded and smiled at Zoey, exposing sharp teeth. Then it picked up the girl's fallen Med Kit, and opened it, removing a small pack of 2 pain pills. It then unscrewed the cap, poured the pills onto the one un-bloodstained hand, and gave them to Zoey with a smirk and wink.

"Wait. Y-you can understand me?" Zoey gasped, startled at the intelligent gaze this Witch possessed. The warlock nodded again, grabbing the gauze out of the Med Kit and slowly winding it around Zoey's bruised ribs. The girl looked at the Warlock, and said to Bill with a confidante smile:

"Looks like we have an addition to the team."

**What did you think? Review for a new chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3 The Name

Hey! I got some spare time, so I'm just writing a bunch of chapters at once! Hope you like it!

After a huge argument,  
>(during which Francis got his head bitten off by Zoey for poking the Warlock in the stomach to prove how hungry it must be.), the group decided that it would be best to take the male Witch with them. They didn't want it to kill them all for abandoning it for one, another reason being that Zoey had plopped down next to the Witch and crossed her arms, saying she wouldn't move until they let the Witch come with them. So off the group set, tracking through the city as Zoey made small talk with the male Witch.<p>

"So, do you remember your name?" Zoey asked. It just felt wrong to call him a Warlock, seeing as this Infected could understand English. The Warlock nodded eagerly, and started scratching in the dirt. "J-A-C-O-B" Zoey read aloud. "Jacob! Your name is Jacob!" She sang, happy to have a name for their new companion. Jacob nodded eagerly, smiling at how happy his friend looked.

"Hey, guys! He says his name is Jacob!" Zoey called to the other men in the group, who were walking about 20 feet ahead of the group.

"What! Who said that? The witch?" Bill exclaimed, slightly frightened at the possibility that this Witch had developed the skills needed to speak. The next thing he knew, it would be hefting a machine gun…

"Yeah!" Zoey called. "He wrote it in the dirt for me!" she yelled, as Jacob chuckled slightly at nothing in particular. Just then, the sound of screaming and footfalls could be heard as the Horde drew around a street corner, baying for the Survivors' blood. The Warlock stood at the ready, claws extended, as the rest of the group drew their guns against the oncoming Army of the Undead.

**There's chapter 3! What'd you think? Read and review, please! C'mon, you know you want to! ;3**


	4. Chapter 4 Signs of Intellect?

I've been getting A LOT of requests to make my Chapters longer, so I'm going to try to type 3 pages for you guys before I publish this. HERE WE GO!

**Chapter 4- Proof of Intellect.**

The Horde was massive, even compared to the size of the legions of the undead that appear when the Survivors attempt to be rescued. They had all ran out of ammunition for the large firearms about 10 minutes in, so they all stood, back to back, in the middle of the Horde, firing their pistols into the crowd. The warlock, however, had no such problem, using his claws to rip through the zombies like tissue paper. All of them had taken a lot of damage, because the pistols were not enough to fend off all the creatures. Zoey screamed as a wall of flesh slammed into her, the result of a headshot dished out by Francis. The dead Infected weighed her down, and her pistol had fallen from her hand.

"HELP! IM DOWN!" Zoey screamed over the gurgles and moans of the starving zombies. Bill turned, just in time to see another Zombie crouch and begin to tear flesh off of Zoey's bones. Bill saw red for about two seconds before bringing his pistol down onto the creature's head, actually leaving the imprint of the barrel in the monster's head as it fell without making a sound.

"Louise and Francis! Clear a path! Jason! Keep them off me! The veteran cried, picking up the unconscious girl as the other 2 male survivors took up the lead, making almost an arrow shape, Louise and Francis making the tip, Bill being the shaft of the arrow, and Jason being the feathers. Together, they punched through the horde, with the Infected in hot pursuit. "Up ahead! Safe house in that old CEDA base! Bill gasped, gripping onto Zoey. Suddenly, strong hands took her from him, and Bill looked over to see Jason cradling the girl and running even faster than the man could have hoped to carrying that weight. Bill nodded, not even considering the fact that he was infected, he only wanted to make sure that Zoey would be safe. Jason nodded, and, as if he understood the urgency, bolted ahead of the others and shoved the Safe Door open with his shoulder and ran inside.

Immediately after making sure the place was clear of Infected, Bill knelt beside Zoey and began applying first aid, with Jason assisting. "Well, she's not going to be running marathons anytime soon, but she'll pull through.

Half an hour later, Zoey was up and about, amongst many, many protests from Bill. Jason had gone off into a room and locked the door, and had not come out since. Zoey knocked on the door, and Jason opened it. Zoey walked over and asked if he was all right. After a pause, Jason did something that made her gasp, almost cry out in alarm.

He replied, "You should worry about yourself. Those monsters did a number on you, my friend"

Half an hour later…

"How long have you been able to talk?" Bill asked, as the group sat around a small fire with beans and salted pork sizzling in tomato sauce. Jason thought for a moment, reflecting on the face Zoey had made when he had talked for the first time. She had looked startled, the confused, but had ultimately calling the others into the room to talk over this new development. Finally, he settled on an answer.

"I don't know. I felt this smart for days, maybe weeks, after I was initially infected." He said, crossing his legs and staring at the fire, letting it catch his golden eyes and making them glint like a sharpened blade in the dancing light. He had found a book to read, and currently had his nose buried in it. He had realized he liked to read only hours ago, and was squeezing as much time into the Harry Potter book as he could before they had to leave, which, according to the others, would be at daybreak.

"Why talk now, then?" Louis asked, glancing over at the Warlock curiously. He had just asked the question everyone else had been thinking, and it piqued everyones' curiosity. Jason shrugged, saying, "There was no need to then." He then said, "I'm going to go to bed now. Goodnight, all." Standing, he slouched into the next room and turned off the light.

"I think we should follow his example, everyone." Francis said, catching confused glances from the others. When Francis agreed with the Infected on mutual ground, the inhabitants of Hell had to turn up their thermostats.

"Alrighty then, bed it is." Zoey said, going into the same room as Josh and laying next to him for warmth, catching the Witch's attention.

"Hey." Josh said, turning to face Zoey with a crooked smirk. "Hey yourself." Zoey giggled, turning her back to him and going to sleep.

'Man, she is PERFECT. I could not for the life of me find a flaw in this woman' Jason thought, before happily turning over and going to sleep snuggled up to Zoey.

Mysterious P.O.V

"They seem happy. We should join them. Said a Female voice from under the blue bloodstained hoodie. "Maybe. We'll see if we can attract that Witch's attention. He seems to be the more level headed one. Also, the humans will be suspicious if they catch a glimpse of you, so don't let them even hear you breathe, or it may well be the end of us. Said another hooded figure, only this one was defiantly male, with a gravely voice and narrower hips. Then, together, they faded into the shadows.

Sorry I couldn't get 3 pages, guys, but I have to be ready for Labor Day tomorrow. I'll try to make it up to you all. Read and Review!

**~Josh.**


	5. Chapter 5 New Arrivals?

Hey guys! I have some news. I was GOING to cut off the story on this chapter, like in the Sopranos, but then I read how much you guys like this, and I would like to keep my head on my shoulders, thank you very much. So, here's:

**Chapter 5- New Arrivals? **

The group of 5 walked through the blood stained streets, guns at the ready. They had encountered no Infected thus far, but were unwilling to let their guard down, should a Horde and/or Tank come out of the shadows. Jason was in the lead, with Zoey beside him and Bill, Louis and Francis taking up the rear. When the group reached a corner, Jason made a hand signal to stop the group and peer around the corner. What he saw made him gasp and pull his head back around the corner.

"What is it? Any Infected?" Zoey asked, slightly scared of what could make Jason react this way.

"Yeah, tons of them. At least, there USED to be" He said, walking around the corner to inspect the damage. Everywhere he looked, another Infected was, its insides torn out and a look of almost-comical surprise on its face.

"What the hell…" Bill said, as he lead all of the others to where Jason was. He was kneeling and inspecting the claw marks on the zombie bodies littering the ground around him. "Look at these marks. They're too small to be Witch, too big to be Smoker. So that narrows it down to Boomer or Hunter. And a Boomer against this many infected? Not likely. There's not even any bile on the ground, and that type of Infected couldn't catch a cold, let alone some startled Infected." He puzzled.

"So, we've got Hunters attacking Common Infected? Why?" Louis said, witch caused Jason to turn his head to the man.

" I don't know, Louis, but look at where these claw marks go." Jason said, pointing. "They're all in vital kill areas for the Commons. So, either these Hunters got lucky over one thousand times, or we've got some sentient Hunters roaming about." He said, completely unaware of the four eyes peering down at the group from the top of a nearby apartment complex.

Mysterious P.O.V

Gasping could be heard amongst the circle of Infected that had gathered. "Oh, man" gagged a Boomer, "That was ROUGH."

"You're ***Pant…pant* **Telling US. We had to clean up all that Bile you left on the ground to attract all those zombies, after we had to kill them all." Said the two female Hunters in unison.

"You guys did have it rough. I wish _I _could have helped. But I'm worthless…" sniffled a female Witch, who then walked to a corner and hugged her knees, sobbing.

"Hey, you're not worthless, sweetie." Said another hunter, male this time, and patted her shoulder.

"R-really? I'm not?" The Witch sniffled, looking over her shoulder at the other Infected.

"Of course not. And once we join up with the Survivors and tell them that it was US who had helped them out like this," he said, gesturing to the carnage below, "They'll be really grateful for all the help."

"Good, then. I'm tired of sleeping out in the open with all those brain-dead monsters." Said the Boomer.

"Agreed." All the others said. "Now, let's get moving. We'll try to make contact with them soon." Said the male Hunter, walking into the building, with all the other Infected following suit.

Well, guys and girls, bad news. I have to go to school tomorrow, and might not be able to update for a while. Hope you understand. Anyways, Read and Review for more chapters! Thank you for reading and staying with me throughout this story! Bye!


	6. Chapter 6

Hey guys, I'm being allowed to stay up late, so I'm celebrating with…. A NEW CHAPTER! (Obviously…)

**Chapter 6- The meeting of the Infected minds?**

The survivors left the Safe Room at about dawn, and continued towards the outskirts of town hoping to find a few working cars to drive away in. Jason was in the lead, with his superior eyesight and hearing letting him sniff out Infected up to 100 yards ahead of the group. Suddenly, he caught a whiff of something. He held up a clenched fist, signaling for the group to stop. After they complied, he whispered, " I smell a female Witch, two female Hunters, a male Boomer, and a male Hunter on the next building over."

"What? How'd a Witch get all the way up there?" Zoey said, dumbfounded that all those types of Special Infected could co-exist. Jason shrugged, and swerved into the tall building to the northwest.

"Let's go and ask her." He said, starting to claw his way up the side of the building.

"Hey! Wait up!" The others said, running up the stairs, noticing the lack of Commons. Then, when they reached the roof, they found Jacob standing in front of a pair of Hunters with slender, curvy hips and wearing matching pouts. They were obviously having a conversation, bordering on debate.

"But whyy?" Whined the taller of the two, staring pleadingly at him.

"We won't eat your friends, promise!" Said the shorter one, crossing her heart for emphasis.

"I didn't say no, I said wait until they get here so I can have a talk with them!" Jacob said, clearly blushing from how close they were to him.

"What the hell? Talking _GIRL _Hunters? What's next? A flaming Tan-Mmph?" Francis started, but was cut off by Zoey clamping her hand over his mouth, not wanting him to jinx it again.

"Go get the others, they'll want to have a say in this too." Said the tall Hunter, as the little one ran inside the large building on the roof. Moments later, a curvy, tall Witch who actually looked pleased to see them, came out of the brick building and waved to them with a small smile. This startled the others, who reeled back, obviously offending her.

"What? Never seen a Witch before? Why I otta-" She was interrupted by a male Hunter who stepped out with his hand wrapped around the petite Hunter's waist. "Gabriel, stop that. They're our company, and we would like to make an offer to them. So no maiming them." He told the girl, glancing at Jason sideways.

"What kind of offer?" Jason said, eliciting a glance from the Witch.

"Ooh, big strong man in charge.." She cooed, strutting over to him. He glanced, confused, at Zoey for help, but she shrugged and let the female Witch lean on Jason's shoulder and close her eyes. Totally oblivious to this, the Hunter said,

"I think it's time for some introductions. EVERYONE! THEY'RE HERE!" He called, as the others stepped outside to meet the Survivors.


	7. Chapter 7 OC Funtime!

**Chapter 6.5- O.C time!**

**Hey guys, I need some names for these new Intelligent Infected!**

**I need- **

**2 Guys and 2 Girls. **

**I need this info-**

**Name-**

**Fav. Food-**

**Accent- (If any)**

**Fav. Pastime-**

**Colthing-**

**Looks-**

**Thanks for the help! I'll post when and if I can!**


	8. Discontinued

Hey guys.

I'm going to have to discontinue this story. I am soooooooo sorry, but I just can't do it anymore. If any of you want to take this story and run with it, message me. I'll update and tell you who gets it. Again, I'm sorry. But I'll be making new stories soon.

Read and Review- Zombie 14Slayer.


	9. Chapter 8 RECONTINUED!

What's up everyone? I feel TERRIBLE for cutting off this story when I did, and want to make up for it in the Spirit of Christmas and all that jazz. Let's just jump right in, shall we? I don't own all the OC's here.

Chapter 8- Meet the Infected.

Jason stood to the side, admiring the new infected who wandered out of the small bunker on the rooftop. There were 2 females and 3 males. The first female Hunter was named Jackie, and the second female hunter was named Jaycee. They claimed to be sisters before they became infected, and Jackie wore a pink hoodie while Jaycee wore a purple one. The first male was named Joshua Sparks, and was a brawny Smoker. He wore a green jacket with rings on his hands that looked to be studded with diamonds and opals.

The second male infected was a Boomer named John, and he looked really queasy, thought he was skinnier than the rest of the Common Boomers. There was also the other male Hunter who called himself Rick and appeared to be the leader. And how could he have forgotten the Witch leaning on his shoulder and sighing contentedly every three seconds? He shook his shoulder at LEAST twice, but she just huffed at him and leaned on him again. After the second try he just gave up.

"So what is it you want, exactly?" Francis asked, looking skeptical and slightly intimidated. The way HE figured it, if they had one Witch, they could easily take them all out. And if they got Jason on their team, it would be a massacre.

"To get out of the city as fast as we can." Jaycee said timidly, leaning on her sister's shoulder. On the other side of this coin, Jackie looked like she was the confident and bull-headed one while Jaycee was timid and shy. Among the other infected, the female Witch, named Gabriel, was calm, cool, and collected, being the exact opposite of the Common Witches. Joshua was looking bored, but agitated, while Rick and John were looking the Survivors over with mixed emotions of respect, intimidation, anger, and downright hope.

"Why do you need our help? You could just run to the edge of town and keep going. Not exactly rocket science." Francis and Bill said. "It wouldn't be," Jaycee said, "If we weren't Infected. But CEDA wouldn't let us get very far. After all, how would people react if they knew about the …experiments?" She sighed dramatically.

"What? Experiments? What experiments?" Jason gasped, his interest piqued. The Survivors were now eating out of the smaller girl's hands for more information. Just the way she liked it.

"A couple weeks ago, maybe even a month or two, CEDA started snatching up Special Infected and experimenting on them. Then they released them, all the while keeping tabs on their positions at all time." She paused to make sure her audience was still captivated. They were, to say the least. "Those who DID come back were the same. At first. Then the mutations occurred. Whatever CEDA did, it made some of the Infected CRAZY smart. Some even went to the point of insanity because they understood something too horrible for them to comprehend. Most killed themselves, (oh the irony!), but those who were still sane and still smart were taking to traveling in groups, much like this one." She said, gesturing around. "Where are the other groups, then?" Bill asked, awed at this realization.

"CEDA got them. Ever since we became sentient, they've been tracking us down and snatching us up again."

"What are they doing now? MORE experiments?" Jason said, slightly scared of the answer.

"No one knows. Anyone they take doesn't come back." She finished, letting the news sink in.

"We have to get out of the city. CEDA's corrupt, or evil, or SOMETHING!" Zoey yelled, as a helicopter came over the edge of the roof. The helicopter had the CEDA logo on its side. Everyone ran.

Thank you for the OC's everyone! I'm hoping to get more chapters later.

**-Zombie14Slayer**


	10. Chapter 9

What's up everybody? I'm going to State College with my family today, so I figured that I would update. Hope you like it. (If anyone's reading this at all…)

**Chapter 9 The Adventure Begins anew! Awake the Slumbering Demon?**

Jason and Gabriel were standing by the rooftop when the helicopter began firing. The machine gun turret began to spin up, and Bill ordered everyone off of the roof. Yes, he said, even the new Infected. They were almost near the door when bullets began spraying from the turret, turning the ground around them into a large piece of concrete Swiss cheese. A couple bullets found their marks, but in all the wrong places. A bullet glanced Jacob's shoulder, and another hit his arm. Gabriel got about five bullets to her side, and both of the Witches, male and female, whipped around and screamed at the chopper in animalistic fury. Jacob started sprinting across the bullet-riddled roof, and when he reached the edge of the roof, he flung himself off of the ledge towards the chopper.

The pilot saw the Infected Warlock flying through the air and panicked. He let his finger off of the trigger to the turret, ceasing the spray of death. Then Jason collided with the copter and began tearing the armored plating off of it, screaming all the time. When the chopper had taken enough damage, it began to smoke, and then it caught fire at the immense friction of Jason's claws scrabbling the metal. It then began to plummet to the ground with Jason still holding on.

After the impact, (Which caused another Tank to burst into flames) Jason stood amongst the wreckage, looking confused, hurt, and lost. Then he saw the pilot struggling under a propeller from his own helicopter, and he went over to him, picking him off the ground with one hand.

"Fastest route out of the city, please." He said sweetly, while slowly crushing his throat.

"*Gurgle* THERE *choke* ISN'T ONE!" He screamed, struggling uselessly in the Warlock's vice-like grip. "The only way out," he wretched, "Is to find the Army in the town of Trenton, and have them Evacuate you!"

"Thank you very much. Now run along, and do try not to run into any Infected. After all," Jason said, swiping the pilot's sidearm away from its holster, "You ARE unarmed."

Jason then released the pilot, and he scrabbled away into the street, already puling out his walkie-talkie to call in help. As the group walked away from where they left the pilot, they heard gunfire and screaming that sounded suspiciously human.

"Hm. Guess they didn't know that helicopters attract the Horde." Jaycee smirked cutely, totally out of line with Bill, Francis, Zoey, and Louis's horrified gaze. Then they shrugged, and together began the trek to Trenton, five miles away.

**Two Hours Later**

"Safe House ahead!" Bill called triumphantly, as everyone else sighed in relief. They had fought through WAVES of zombies to get here, and were finally at the edge of the town of Trenton. A barricade jutted up from all around the city, which looked as if a small nuclear bomb had hit it. After about an hour into the walk, Zoey had become fatigued to the point of passing out, and when Jason had noticed her dragging her feet and the tip of her ax dropping, he had gently scooped her off of the ground and began to carry the now-sleeping student over the rest of the distance.

Zoey stirred in his arms and looked around, her eyes still hazy with sleep and disorientation. "Where are we?" she murmured, and Jason's heart twanged sympathetically. She had had a rough day, with the meeting of all the Infected, the pilot, and having to walk almost two miles under extreme fatigue. He knew the others had gone through the same and more, but he really didn't care. All he cared about was keeping the Survivors from harm and escorting them from this new hell on earth. Anyway, once they learn the truth of his origins, he might as well jump off of a cliff onto sharp rocks, because a multitude of things would happen. Bill and Francis would react with cold, calculating precision; Louis would become quiet and cold to him, and worst, WORST OF ALL… Zoey would want nothing to do with him. He shuddered at the idea of not being able to speak to her, to hear her laugh, to feel her warm body at night, (Calm down, you perverts), and to be without her in any way. He wanted to protect her, because she reminded him that this world wasn't dead YET; that it MIGHT be able to be saved, if ONLY he could get this angel away from the demons attempting to corrupt her body and ravage her mind with this dreadful disease with he embodied.

No. If she could get away, he could know his wretched life had been FOR something, for preserving the most beautiful person on the planet.

And if the others got away, well, that was fine too.

**So how was it? Please leave a review. Also, a little added seriousness for this author's note. This other author, called **DeadAliveManiac, **MIGHT help me with some ideas. So, shout out to him. Also, check out some of my othere stories for more sarcastic and perverted humor.**

**-Zombie14Slayer **


	11. Chapter 10

**What's up everyone? I believe there's been some confusion about my last author's note. I am NOT going to COLLEGE; I was going to STATE COLLEGE. It's a city in the state where I live, like a really big shopping community. So sorry for any confusion that may have been caused, but believe it or not, I'm actually in 9th grade. Just so there's no more confusion about that. Although, thank you for the congratulations! Now, back to the story!**

**Chapter 10 – First attempt? Maybe the last!**

"Thank GOD for Safe Houses!" Zoey gasped exhaustedly as they stumbled past the red door. "Why are you so tired? You were CARRIED more than half the time! What's wrong with you?" Francis griped, throwing himself onto a sleeping bag and going out of consciousness at once.

Bill sighed. "Anyway, what are the sleeping arrangements?" Jacob asked, looking around the vast space they now occupied almost snugly. They were now in the Wal-Mart of Trenton, which was pitifully small. It was about fifty yards long and sixty wide, leaving the overall effect of a rectangle. They had swept through the less-than crowded isles, looking for supplies. Unusually, there was quiet a bit of non-perishable food left, along with twelve Health Packs, more than enough to sustain the group of eleven. Everyone now had a Health Pack next to their sleeping bags to strap to their backs in the morning. The sleeping bags were laid out so that the heads of every sleeping bag was up against the head of the one behind it, so they could get up in the middle of the night if something came through the door or wall. And, as is now usual, Jason was next to Zoey.

"You had a pretty rough day today." Jason whispered to Zoey, whom he thought was asleep. She wasn't of course, but that's what he thought. " I wish I had enough nerve to tell you how I feel about you, but I don't" He said, "I'm a pathetic excuse for a Witch, so weak and able to be intimidated. Witches are strong and fearless. But, then what am I? Some freaky mutated thing that crawled out of some toxic slime someplace?" At this point, he turned onto his back and looked at the cracked ceiling. He didn't notice that Zoey had turned to him, lying on her side, with a surprised look in her eyes. She didn't interrupt, however. She wanted to know how far his feelings went for her. Maybe… just maybe….. as deep as hers for him?

Jacob sighed. "I know you're asleep now, and probably can't hear me, but if you can, tell me how you feel. Because personally, it's killing me to know if this is some pathetic crush that can only go that far."

Then, in the dark, he heard a whisper: "Hm. Good thing you think that," Zoey said, and Jacob's heart was currently lodged into his throat, thinking she was going to tell him that she had NO such feelings. "Because I didn't want mine to be a pathetic crush, either."

Jason started so powerfully that he almost woke up Jaycee, who proceeded to roll over to hug her sister's arm and mutter something about pecan pie. With that oddity over and done with, he looked next to him to see Zoey propped onto one arm, staring him in the eyes, with the cutest smirk on her face.

She looked at him, and she knew that he would get her to safety no matter the cost. He wanted her to be safe, and that was all that mattered to him. Self-preservation was a thing of the past, and as the held each other, it seemed the past was nothing to anyone, at least for tonight.

**Yep, fluff. Sorry, but I had to do it. Anyway, read and review for me to give up another chapter. Maybe less fluff in the next chapter of this story that I write. MAYBE.**


	12. Chapter 11

**No Author's Note for this chapter…..wait…..**

**Chapter 11**

After everyone had woken up and eaten stale cereal dry for their breakfast, they decided to try the mall in the center of town. They had found a foldable map in the storeroom, and had taken it upon first sight. As they left the Safe House, a more notable person would have seen that Zoey was holding the hand of a very specific Infected.

"So, where to now?" Francis asked Jason, who had the map. Jason released Zoey's hand and grabbed the map from the pocket on his Med Kit and unfolded it. After studying the map for a few seconds, he turned to ask the other Infected where the most Commons would be. After that discussion was over, he turned to the impatient biker.

"Two lefts, then a right." He said, already taking Zoey's hand again. The two had been almost inseparable from the time they had left the safe room, and now Bill noticed this with a grunt. He was uneasy that Zoey had bonded so closely to the Infected majority of the group, and was becoming more unsettled by the second. In a fight, he KNEW that they couldn't take all of them at once, and if they DID turn on them, he didn't want Zoey to be reluctant to shoot any of them. She had also bonded with the two female Hunters, Jaycee and Jackie, particularly talking about the clothing they wore.

"Oh, that hoodie is so cute! Where'd you get it?" Jaycee burbled, looking with a dazed expression at the way Zoey's hoodie caught the attention of her instincts to want to shop. After all, she was a spending TYCOON before the Infection started spreading.

"This little custom hoodie place in my old town. My dad bought it for me for my sixteenth birthday." Zoey beamed over her shoulder, glad the other girl appreciated it's splendor and movement. Jason, however, was looking as bored as bored could be. So, extremely reluctantly, he released her soft hand and walked to where the others were talking about how to strafe off the coming zombies. By the time they reached the mall, they saw a word on the wall of the mall that made the girls sequel with glee and the guys start slightly.

SHOWER

"Oh, dear merciful lord in heaven." Zoey said, looking in longing at the simple word.

"A shower. Oh god, they DO still exist." Jaycee and Jackie panted in almost perfect unison.

"A shower DOES sound good right about now. What do you guys think?" Jason said, turning to the others.

"Sounds good to me" Louis and Bill said, scratching at the dirt on their skin.

"Fine." Was all Francis, Josh, John, and Rick had to say on the matter.

"Oh, I haven't had a good bath in who-knows how long!" Zoey sighed contentedly as they walked through the showers, sweeping for Infected. Finding none, they locked the main doors behind them. Bill sent the women into the left of the showers, men to the right.

Zoey was the first to strip off her ragged clothing and stand before the wall of showerheads jutting from the wall.

"Oh please, oh, please, oh PLEASE.." She chanted, bending to turn the hot and cold faucet controls, to be greeted with a blast of steamy water that made her moan in ecstasy. She heard pleasured grunts from the right side of the shower, and guessed that the others had gotten hot water, as well. Then she opened her eyes and saw that she was on either side of the other girls, who were all, of course, Infected. The first thing she noticed was how thin they all were, and the second one was the claw and bite marks on them. Jaycee, who looked so sweet and innocent with her purple hoodie on, now looked as if a land mine had detonated on her petite body. She had extensive damage to her lower body, which had bite and claw marks all on her legs and feet. Trailing up her tender skin were more claw marks, which led up to her porcelain neck, which had about two overlapping bite marks on it. She then noticed her sister beside her, and realized that she had gotten the worst of the attack. She had bites and bruises on her back, with claw and teeth marks running on her narrow shoulders down to her tender hips.

She then glanced to her left and saw Gabriel, who looked not that worse for wear. The only visible marks on her from the angle were on her spread hips, where they appeared to run along her side up to, apparently, her breasts. Zoey stood for a moment, considering what it would feel like to have someone bite down as hard as that on her breasts. Probably not pleasant, to say the very least.

As she was toweling off, she wandered into one of the empty clothing stores in the mall and grabbed something to go under her now dry-cleaned hoodie. It was going to be a long trip, but at least now she was clean for it.

**Read and Review, if you please.**


	13. Chapter 12

I know that some of you have been waiting for a LONG time for a new chapter of my story, so here you go!

After the shower, the entire group, thought only the girls had shown it, felt as if their bones were liquid. Zoey slinked out of the dry-cleaner's, ready for a nap, when she heard gunfire and elated screaming. As I someone was having a GREAT time killing something or someone else. She ran to get the others.

Meanwhile, in the Men's section for clothing, Jason riffled through anything he could get his hands on, looking for something that looked easy to run in. He settled for a pair of dress pants with legs that cut off just above his shoes, and a T-Shirt that said "Jealous" with an arrow below it. He chuckled slightly as he slipped the shirt over his razor sharp claws, thinking of how Zoey would laugh at its horribly corny design.

Zoey burst into the clothing section of the Wal-Mart, panting and effectively startling all of the group, Infected and survivors alike. "There's a Survivor nearby!" Was all she got out before everyone had their guns or claws prepped and ready for action against the Infected.

The group dashed through a Wise-Eyes department store before coming upon the carnage. A mass of Infected bodies were thrown without a care against a wall, and a man was crouched nearby, cleaning his guns next to a fire consisting of fliers and clothing from a nearby store.

"Hey! Are you all right? We heard you screaming and shooting!" Zoey called from down the stretch of abandoned stores between them and the man.

"I'm fine. And I don't want nothing to do with any of ya'll." He drawled, setting his dual pistols down to pick up his AK-47 and began to clean the butt of he weapon of the Infected blood staining its smooth finish.

"Well, SOMEONE'S in a good mood!" Jaycee huffed, becoming pissed off that the ingrate would deny their help. And they had even been ready to use MedKits on him if he had needed…

"I don't need ya help, I'm doing fine hunting those damn Sentient on mah own." The figure gritted through his teeth.

"Uh-oh… Maybe we should leave…" Jason said, turning on his heels.

The group sped off; leaving the oblivious Sentient Hunter to wonder how he had lost the trail that CEDA had provided him to find those damn Sentient Infected…

Yep, a NEW CHARACTER! Wonder how this is going to end! Oh wait, I already know!

**:3**

**Read and Review for more later!**


	14. Chapter 13

Aloha and happy Summer! I am having a wonderful time with my friends. Gonna try to update my other story as well. One of the main characters in my Halo story, Austin, just had his tonsils out. Anyway, I have very big plans. Let's GO!

After the run-in with the Sentient hunter, all the infected and human survivors were rattled. Bill, however, was suspicious.

"You said they didn't target specific Sentient groups, didn't you?" He asked as they sat in the Wal-Mart.

"They normally don't. We're a special case." Jason spat into the fire and continued, "I should have told you this earlier, but we've discovered we were all in the same testing area when CEDA had us. Area 88. It was a specialized stain division, dealing with the most intelligent and powerful Sentient."

"Yeah. We caused too many problems with the other Sentient, sparking riots, infecting human guards who were exceedingly cruel, and pulled pranks." Josh said. Grinned at Jaycee, "remember when we lit Frank the Tank on fire and sent him running around the courtyards? The guard pissed himself before they put him out!" Jaycee burst into hysteric laughter and clutched her sides at remembering this. Jackie grinned and stroked her chin.

"I wonder if Frank made it out of Area 88." She said as she wandered into the dark back of the store. Then followed screaming and rumbling as Jackie shot out of the dark, followed by a massive, hulking purple Tank! "! HAAALLPP!" Everyone shot to their feet and went for the Tank. Then it snatched Jackie up and-?

Started… HUGGING her?

"Jackie! Jason! Josh! Jaycee! It's soo good to see you all made it out alive!" The Tank rumbled, throwing them a jaw-less grin and nod.

Jaycee, Jason, Josh, and the survivors were struggling to pick their jaws off of the ground, with Jaycee recovering first and running for the hulking mass of muscle.

"Frank! We were JUST talking about you!" She laughed, throwing herself into the Tank's arms. Jason came up next, patting Frank's arm with the ends of his claw.

"Hey big man. Good to see you! What are you doing in this store?" Josh asked, perplexed at the coincidence.

"I smelled you guys and some humans around, so I figured I'd scare the living shit out of you all!" Frank boomed, doubling over with laughter. "And it worked!"

ELSEWHERE

The Sentient Hunter held his head in his hands. If he called CEDA, they would label him incompetent and only pay him the bare minimum. If he DIDN'T, however, there was a chance he wouldn't live to tell the tale. No man crossed CEDA and lived.

He sighed and flipped open a radio transmitter, activating the distress and rescue beacon hidden inside. He was SO fired…

WAL-MART

Jason had, obviously, invited Frank to stay with them. The Tank had accepted, and now say across from everyone, telling stories about ghosts, ghouls, and parties they had held in Area 88.

"… And one time, Jaycee got SO DRUNK that she actually tried to hit on Jaso- What?" He stopped, looking at Jason waving his arms behind Zoey while frantically drawing his finger across his throat. Jaycee, however, had gone and curled up in a corner as Frank neared the end of his sentence.

"Well, enough stories for tonight!" Jason said, glaring at Josh and Jackie, who were laughing their asses off in a corner, while pointing at Jason and Jaycee trying to avoid eye contact with each other.

Jason stood, only to hear, off in the distance, a helicopter's blades. He sighed, as all the others heard it come into range. He looked down at Zoey, saying: "We need to leave. They're bringing in the SIT units."

_Who are the mysterious SIT operatives who approach? Will this mean the end of the story? The world? THE UNIVERSE? Am I asking too many questions? Are you sick of this? THE ANSWER IS MOST LIKELY YES!_

Well, read and review! Thanks for your patience!


	15. Chapter 14

Hey guys! Yep, 2 chapters within 2 days! This is getting really crazy, right? Anyway, let's get on with it!

Jason sprinted across the floor, along with the other Sentient, to a nearby window. The survivors were confused by what could make the Infected Survivors worry and whisper amongst themselves like they were.

"Come ON! We can take them! We have, what? 10 people, 6 of them super strong and intelligent Infected, versus all of them? And one of those Infected is a FRICKIN TANK!" Jaycee whispered frantically to Jason, who had by then been elected leader of the Sentient. He looked over at the helicopter, which had now settled into the parking lot in the middle of a circle of destroyed and burning cars, letting men and women jump off and start to pull their cargo backpacks off of the aircraft's cargo holders.

"That might be true, Jaycee. But we still can't take on the Special Intelligence Team! They have all sorts of weird and crazy gear that look like things aliens would use for dissecting cows! Also, we can't risk the Survivors. What if SIT got a hold of one of the Immune? They'd be testing on them on the ride back home, because they LOVE TO TEST. We're all a tribute to that!" He said, holding up his claws, looking around the group for anyone who thought of challenging him. "Even WITH Frank, we still couldn't fight off the Traitor units they more than most likely have with them! We're running. And we're not going to THINK about turning to fight. Got it?" When everybody in the group nodded their consent, he turned to the Survivors, just as a Witch, Hunter, and a small, scraggly-looking Infected stepped from the helicopter, unnoticed by the other Sentient as they followed Jason.

"Hey, Jason. What's the matter? You look like you're going to be sick." Zoey said, standing as Jason half walked, half limped over to them. He had turned a dark shade of purple, and rage was visible in his golden eyes. Bill looked concerned, for he had seen the helicopter land and start depositing the ground forces. Louis was trying to formulate a plan in his mind for if the Warlock lost it and started killing everyone around him. Francis, honestly, couldn't have been less interested in anything that was going on in the current moment. He was cleaning his gun, and had found a gold ring on the floor. He was content with staying in the Wal-Mart, looking for more treasure. Then Jason spoke.

"We're leaving. We have to get out of the reach of CEDA, where even the SIT units won't go. Where there is SO MUCH unexplored terrain, some types of Infected can't even be found there." He said. As thunder crashed off in the distance, he looked about the small group of people and Infected that had been barely pulled together by a single, lucky meeting on a street corner many months ago. Then he spoke as lightning, white hot and screaming, pierced the clouds.

"We have to go to The Everglades."

Everyone in the group looked up at him in shock. Louis was the first to object to this radical idea.

"What? The Everglades? Why there?" Zoey had stood and went to stand next to Jason, and after a brief, whispered discussion, her eyes went wide and she turned to Bill.

She said; "I don't know about you guys, and I really hope you decide to come, but if what even HALF Jason says is true, we are in deep shit. It's more dangerous then we thought. They have Traitor units. Sentient Infected that work for CEDA, bringing in other Sentient to live in the lap of luxury. No tests, no harsh treatment, and all the good stuff they always wanted. For the fair price of betraying their own race."

Everyone in the group shifted, now uncomfortable at the thought of being ambushed by Hunter packs, Sentient Hordes, or even another Warlock or Witch. Bill, Francis, and finally, Louis stood. Jason looked around the group, and they all nodded at him in their turn. He grinned like a madman, and kicked dirt over the fire, throwing them into complete darkness. Then he spoke, the ghost of a laugh barely audible in his voice.

"Well, this is gonna be FUN!"


	16. Chapter 15

**Hey you guys! Hope your summer's going all right so far. I'm going to be setting up my pool and going fishing this coming week. But for now, story content! Let's go!**

The Survivors crawled on their hands and knees, the only sound Zoey's ragged breathing and Jason's claws scathing the floor down to the bare metal underneath. They had witnessed SIT teams and what looked like a Witch storm the doors and meet up with the Sentient Hunter they had seen before. After a heated discussion, the Sentient Hunter stormed out of the building and to the helicopter, where he sat and waited. The SIT teams were centered on the Witch, who had metal chains wrapped down her slender arms. She was wearing a leather jacket, blue Levi's, and cowboy boots with a matching hat. She spoke to the teams with a thick southern drawl, and said:

"Ya'll be on the lookout and keep ya safety's off, hear? They got a Witch, a Tank, three Hunters, a Smoker, and…. four humans." The SIT teams looked about nervously at the mention of the Infected, but shot strange looks at the Witch at the mention of the humans. A man wearing a hazmat suit and a Commander style patch on his shoulder moved forward and spoke incredulously to the young girl, who now had her deadly claws resting at her hips.

"Humans? Really now, Angel, are you sure about that? One hundred percent positive?" When the Witch, now known as Angel, nodded her head, the man looked about himself, and then continued, "Is there anything else we need to know? Anything else you can smell besides those Sentient and Humans?"

Angel tilted her head, inhaled quietly through her petite nose, and drawled out a slow but steady answer. "I'd reckon there is, Commander. There's something… off about this scent. It's kinda like a Witch, but it's just not right. There's a lot more musk and power behind it than is normal. Can't quiet this naggin doubt I got churnin in my stomach… It may be that Jason kid ya'll've been after.

The Commander's head almost popped through the top of his biohazard suit and his eyes bugged out of his head. "WHAT?" He ran to the courtyard and looked over at the other teams they had left outside, screaming orders at them that the Survivors couldn't hear. Jason looked over his shoulder at everyone behind him and motioned for everyone to head for the Emergency Exit only about 20 yards away.

And that's when Angel stepped on Zoey's leg and pointed her Desert Eagle at the back of Jason's head.

"No one move, or this handsome young fella' gets a bullet through his skull, followed by Princess over here." Angel had failed to notice Jason's claws because of the way he had been crawling. He looked over his shoulder, keeping his eyes down, and looked over at Zoey, her face contorted in pain as the Witch stepped down harder and harder until very quiet pops and cracks could be heard. Jason glared up at the Traitor, and his claws flashed in the dim light of the flickering neon signs, flashing at the girl's exposed neck and jawline. A sound similar to steel swords clashing together rang through the stores, and sparks flew as Angel got her claws up just in time to block Jason's vicious upward sweep to her neck. She then laughed lightly, throwing the pistol aside, and raised her claws as she clicked them together, challenging his gusto.

Jason responded in a way that seemed to surprise the challenger. He raised his head, bared shark-like teeth, and hissed at her. He then brought his claws crashing into each other, casting white-hot sparks onto the concrete below them. Finally, he reared up to his full 6 foot 2 inch height and roared so ferociously it shook the entire floor they were on.

Angel's eyes flashed confusion and fear before she quickly pulled herself together and crossed her arms across her jacket. "You ain't so bad, stranger. You've got guts, challenging the quickest Witch in the West. I might just let you die quick. Princess, though, dies nice and slow. Might peel her skin off and make myself a new jacket."

Jason leaned forward, his face hidden in shadow, and suddenly disappeared. Angel looked around, astonished, before he reappeared in front of her and drove his elbow into her Solar Plexus. She doubled up, coughing up blood and chocking on her own vomit. Jason then started swinging his claws in large circles, before leaning into Angel. She was torn up badly, and was sent flying across the room by the sheer force of the attack. Jason slowly but confidently said, "We're not in Kansas anymore, are we?" 

Black blood and gore dripped onto the ground as Angel dragged herself away from Jason, coughing and convulsing from the initial hit to her body's core. Jason walked forward, and placed a hand on the girls' head. Angel coughed and sputtered, "Plea-*cough*-se! No! *wretch***"**

Jason reached behind his back while at the same time he pinned the struggling girl to the ground with his knees and extra hand. All the while Angel was making pleas for her life.

"Please! I SWEAR! I'll just go live in a *gag* sewer!" Just don't kill me! *SOB*"

Jason found what he was looking for, and placed it on the ground next to the now-crying girl. Angel knew her taunting had gotten her into a situation she couldn't get out of. Suddenly, her wounds felt like they were on fire! She gasped and tried to scream, but the stronger Warlock held a strange-smelling cloth over her face, and everything went black.

**LATER…**

Angel bolted up, her wounds screaming protest as she looked around the large room she was in. A large red door, one with bookshelves and other furniture stacked against it, and another one, with bars through which she could see her blind, stupid Infected cousins stumbling around, braying for human flesh and blood. She then examined her wounds, finding them stitched and cauterized. She also noted band-aids on her smaller cuts, with some kind of germ-killing cream on them. 'THAT'S what was burning…' Angel thought to herself as she looked over on the table beside her, seeing her leather jacket and chains. She also noticed her Levi's, cowboy boots and hat. She looked at what she was wearing, surprised to see herself in loose-fitting sweatpants, a gray, (and also very soaked through with sweat) T-Shirt and, to top it all off, pink socks with Hello Kitty on them. She looked around herself one last time, and nearly shot out of her skin when she saw Jason sitting in a dark corner with all the other Survivors, staring at her intently.

Jason looked over at the girl in the hood who Angel had been standing on. When she nodded her consent, he stood, walked over to the girl, and held out a clawed hand. After a minute's hesitation, she took it and he hauled her to her feet. After handing her Desert Eagle he had recovered back to her, he smiled. 'What's going on here?' Angel puzzled to herself. He then said four words she never expected to hear, especially from him.

"Welcome to the Team."


End file.
